Global Traveller: October 2011

Greetings from the Lake District, England for my last blog of this journey.

I can't quite believe I'm back, this feels very surreal and is taking some time to get used to everything. I'm tucked away in a little village at Dave's parent's getting used to everything again and even here it feels like a fast pace of life. No-body said this would be easy...

Phnom Penh

After our trip from Phnom Penh to get our Thailand visa, we flew back into Bangkok in the early evening and the plan was to catch the midnight bus back to Koh Chang. On arrival at the bus counter the sign indicated that there was no midnight bus and that the next one would be at 07:50am! That meant a full 14 hours sleeping at the airport. Great stuff.

The night was long and I didn't get a single minute of sleep. The airport is noisy all night and all day with something always happening. I spent £20 through the night on hot dogs and pot noodles, chocolate and crisps which by Thai prices, £20 is a hell of a lot of money! The morning finally arrived and then it was a 7 hour bus/ferry/taxi ride back to the island. After 26 hours travelling we finally made it back to Koh Chang. To give you a perspective, it is only 178 miles (286 kilometres) from Koh Chang to Phnom Penh. You can travel around the world in that amount of time!

Rainy season

The month of September saw a change in the weather on Koh Chang. The rainy season runs from April to October however we were lucky because August was a hot and sunny month. September changed to rain, cloud and storms with an odd sunny day in between. The storms are something else on Koh Chang, it can rain for 4 days solid and the village floods, but life dosen't seem to even notice it and everything runs as normal.

Island life does not come without it's problems. Because of the rain, not a single piece laundry gets dry because of the humidity. Everything, and I mean everything is damp. Even the toilet roll is damp! The damp laundy also meant everything stunk like dirty socks and old man. NEVER have I every smelt so bad. It was embarrassing to go out because I was paranoid everyone could smell my supposedly clean clothes! To add to this, a tree had fallen over the power lines and cut the power off for the whole island. There was no water, electricity, internet or mobile phone signal. I don't think I have ever felt so isolated in all my life. Still, you make the best of it and get some candles, warm beer and a gathering of friends and chat the night away.

Dave on the decks at Om Bar

The month passed quickly and Dave continued his DJing at Om Bar. After a fantastic month of partying, we decided that it was time to come home, mainly for financial reasons. We had discussed 'going home' for some time but then moved onto something else so nothing was ever planned or acted upon. It just felt like the time had come and we booked our flights for the next day! This was quite a shock to our friends on Koh Chang but in a way, I'm glad it was that sudden because there was little time to dwell on everything.

Our last night saw some of our close friends arrive on our balcony at 4am with a bag full of cold beers, ready to see our last night off in style! We have made some great friends who know our love for beer all too well. There were some tears and it was one of the hardest times I think I have had in all my time travelling. Questioning your decision as to whether you have made the right choice casts a lot of doubt in your mind, but the decision was made so we had to stick to it.

At 8am, bearing in mind we had to be up at 11am, our friends finally left and we headed for bed. It's not the best idea in the world to be travelling for 2 full days on only 3 hours sleep!

Last night on the balcony

We left Koh Chang and headed for Trat airport, the cutest airport in the world. It is literally just straw roofed huts next to a runway. An hours flight to Bangkok then another 7 hours to wait until our next flight to Doha in the Middle East. We have spent so much time at Bangkok Airport, another 7 hours wasn't going to be an issue.

The flight was easy to Doha, surprisingly. Usually for me, in economy class it's hard work. We had 3 hours transfer at Doha then it was the final 8 hour flight to Manchester. I had very mixed feelings for this flight; on one hand I wanted to the journey over and done with, then on the other hand I was nervous about being back on UK soil. It was very draining on an already tired body.

Travelling friends

Just before descending into Manchester, we flew over the south coast of England, London and the Midlands; all viewed from 40,000 feet. I could see the heatwave in full swing and what an amazing perspective to view the UK from after being away for so long. Everything looked so tiny. It felt like quite a poignant moment at the end of the journey.

On arrival at Manchester, it was hot and sunny. Wow. After a month of rain and storms, it was nice to be back in the sunshine. The weather certainly helped ease me back into the UK. The tan I came back with was quite pathetic after so long on the road!

So here we are a week after arriving back. It seems like a dream when I look back but I'm so proud that I did it. I'm getting used to being back but I will be honest, it is hard. One minute I'm ok, wanting to get on with things then the next I feel like I'm grieving for a lost part of me that I've left behind. No-one could have prepared me for being back home, I'm just glad I'm tucked away in a little village in the Lake District finding my mind and my feet again. It's time to see friends and family and catch up with people who matter.

Lonely Beach

Well I hope you have enjoyed following the blog, I have certainly enjoyed writing it. This journey maybe over but life goes on, and I will be hitting the road again. Not sure where, when or how, but I've certainly got the travelling bug now.

Thanks to all the amazing people I have met along the way, there has been so many but you know who you are!

Until next time....